Sonic the Hedgehog: Return to Robotropolis
by ClawedIndecisive FanGirl
Summary: Sonic's dark past has come back to haunt him, but he has found Robotropolis again! But Eggman kidnaps Sonic's siblings, and every time Sonic rescues them, Eggman snatches them back up! What is Eggman up to; what does it have to do with the "Flames of Disaster"; and why is he trying to expose Sonic's deepest secret? Also, what's gotten into Shadow? Why is he being so nice to Sonic?
1. Chapter 1- A Not-So-Happy Birthday

**This is my first _Sonic_ fanfiction. I hope you like it! Please read and review!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_!

* * *

The place was a mess. There were nuts and bolts scattered all around the floor, not to mention all the tools everywhere. On the table, the couch, some had even gotten in the beds somehow! Luckily, there were enough tools gathered in one place for a certain two-tailed fox to work on his plane, the Tornado.

Of course, the plane wasn't actually his. He was only twelve; he couldn't buy a plane on his own. No, the red-and-white plane belonged to his best friend, who was sitting next to the young fox, handing him tools as he asked for them.

"Screwdriver, please."

"Here ya go."

Next to the red bi-plane was the blue-and-yellow plane the fox had built himself. He called it the Tornado 2. (He was pretty young when he made and named it) He had already done a check on that one. There were other devices around the workshop too; he had either been building it or taking it apart.

The kit was simply a prodigy. He had an IQ of over 300. He was often bullied until his best friend and role model came along and changed everything. Now he had tons of friends and a lot more self-confidence because of him.

"Wrench."

"Wrench."

Finally he screwed in the last bolt. He was done!

As he started to sit up, he forgot that he was still partly under the plane and banged his head into the hard, metal structure. "Ow!"

"You okay, Tails?"

The bruised fox looked at his friend. "I'm fine, Sonic. Just a bruise."

Said hedgehog smiled and looked closely at the now-purple spot on the fox's head. "Yeah, you're right. I've had worse."

Tails got a devilish smile on his face. "From Amy, right?"

Sonic gave an exhausted sigh and smiled right back at the fox. "Yes, from Amy."

This caused the two to have a giggling fit before they heard the door open and footsteps running toward them. Sonic peeked around the corner to find the exact person they were talking about. A pink hedgehog in a red dress and boots with white lining sprinting toward the hangar.

"I think we jinxed it," he whispered as his friend came to see their guest as well.

This got a quiet giggle out of the fox before he went up to the pink hedgehog. "Hey, Amy. What's goin' on?"

"Oh! Tails! Thereyouguysare! EveryoneswaitingforyouguysatGreenHillZone! We'rehavingapicnic;youguyshavetocome," she started to take a breath which is where Sonic decided to cut in.

"Amy, calm down! We can't understand you when you talk like that!"

"I think I heard 'picnic' and 'Green Hill Zone'."

The over-excited hedgehog nodded. "Yeah. I was saying that everyone is at Green Hill Zone having a picnic. They're all waiting for you guys."

"Now that I can understand." Sonic rushed out of the door, then peeped back in. "You guys coming?"

"Ha ha ha! Wait for us, Sonic!" Tails started spinning his namesakes and flew off after the high-speed hedgehog.

"Wait for me, guys!"

* * *

It didn't take long for the heroes to reach the picnic area. After all, they were known for their speed above all else. At least Sonic was. He was the first to arrive.

He skidded to a stop a few feet away from his friends, trying not to ram into one of them. When he did come to a complete stop, he was a bit shocked.

"Happy birthday!"

The birthday boy broke out laughing as his surprise soon dispersed. "I had almost forgotten it was my birthday! Thanks, guys!" His two-tailed friend arrived, only to be caught in a headlock from his best friend. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Of course!" he managed to say through his laughter. "I was the one who planned it!"

Sonic finally released Tails with a huge smile plastered on his face. "And how did I not notice you planning this party?"

"You were always on one of your runs when I started the planning."

"Of course." He looked around at his surprise party, he saw the Chaotix. Charmy Bee looked like he had already drunk half of the punch. Vector the Crocodile was getting on to him for something (probably drinking half of the punch). Espio the Chameleon was just trying to look less embarrassed than he was. Luckily, he was a ninja, so that was easy for him, for the most part anyway.

Blaze the Cat, a princess with pyrokinesis from another dimension and guardian of the Sol Emeralds, was talking to Silver the Hedgehog, a hedgehog from the future with psychokinesis.

Next to them was Cream the Rabbit, Cheese the Chao, and Vanilla the Rabbit standing next to the snacks. Cheese was holding a cupcake, with the small orb above his head in the shape of a heart. Cream also had a cupcake and had obviously been nibbling it as she had small splotches of icing around her mouth. Vanilla was tentatively fusing over her child, wiping her mouth of crumbs and icing. She gave a friendly smile to Sonic as she saw him looking their way. "Happy birthday, dear."

"Thanks, Vanilla."

A glint caught the corner of the hedgehog's eye and he looked toward it to see E-123 Omega, the Eggman robot gone good. On top of the massive robot was Rouge the Bat, a GUN agent that took up treasure hunting as a hobby. Although she did like to try to steal the Master Emerald from Knuckles a lot. Probably so she could flirt with him. She gave Sonic a flirty wink as he glanced over. Sonic simply rolled his eyes affectionately and raised his hand in greeting. Behind the robot was what caught Sonic's attention the most. Standing with his arms crossed and his back turned to the crowd, was Shadow the Hedgehog.

Sonic leaned over to Tails. "How'd you get Shads to come?"

The fox just shrugged. "I didn't. Rouge must have dragged him along."

"Heh heh."

He looked over to the lake to see Amy had arrived and was talking to Big the Cat with his friend, Froggy. The large purple cat had his fishing pole out and cast into the lake.

_'Does he do anything besides fishing?' _Sonic thought as he gazed along the water's surface. He then remembered the friendly cat helping Amy and Cream in their adventure with Metal Overlord. _'Guess he does.'_

Knuckles the Echidna came up to his side and patted Sonic on the back. "Happy birthday, hedgehog." He then held out his fist for a fist-bump.

"Thanks, Knux." He returned the gesture. "Let's hope no monsters decide to come crash the party this time."

The echidna gave a short chuckle and walked to the rest of the group with Sonic and Tails right in step.

An hour later, the party was still going. The friends were talking and laughing; they had even gotten Shadow to race at one point. They were just enjoying themselves.

Sonic, at the moment, was talking with Tails and Amy. Amy actually hadn't been clinging to Sonic that much during the party. He just guessed she had been too busy talking to everyone else to constantly hand on him. She was his friend, but she tended to let her crush on him go a little far. She actually could be good company if she wasn't always trying to get you to marry her.

"How could you forget your own birthday, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Yeah. Especially after your last one," Amy added.

Sonic shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess I just… forgot."

The three cracked up. "I'd think a giant black monster that eats time and space would be memorable enough," Tails managed through his laughter.

"Because none of the stuff I do isn't memorable enough already?"

"Like genies in books or a giant death laser threatening the earth?"

"Or a god of destruction made of water destroying the city, the planet breaking apart and you turning into a werehog, maybe a tornado carrying us off onto another dimension?"

Sonic raised his hands in effort to stop the two. "Okay! Okay! I get it." He let out a giggle.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed throughout the Zone. Looking up, the group could see what looked like a large dragon flying toward the party a few miles away. Looking closely, you could just see a small dot floating beside it. The Eggmobile.

"Again? Can't that egghead just chill for one day? Oh, well." The hedgehog started stretching, gazing at the large robot in the distance. "This might be fun!"

All the guests stood ready behind him. They knew that they were in for a fight. Of course, with all of them there, it couldn't be that hard. They'd been through thick and thin together. Heck, they've thought that another of them was dead before. They could handle this thing.

It didn't take long for the scientist to reach him. That robot moved pretty quickly considering how much metal was used to build it. It was about four stories high, not including the tail. That was three miles in length on its own. The body was split into different parts, probably so it could move easier. It also had small separate squares of metal arranged around it.

_'Doors,' _Sonic realized. They were hatches for weaponry. The head was straight edged; it had no curves in it what-so-ever. It was like he had spent so much time on the rest of the body that he had to rush the head just to have it ready for the party. The entire thing was painted a bright red, the only exceptions being its stomach and snout, which were a deep black.

"Hedgehog!"

Said hedgehog placed his hands on his hips and gazed up at the doctor with a bored look on his face. Although, his eyes revealed the excitement in those emerald irises. "What, no 'Happy birthday' or 'Hello, how are you'? That's a bit rude, wouldn't you say?"

Eggman scowled at the blue blur with pure hate reflecting off of his small, round glasses. "I'm so sorry, hedgehog. Happy. Birthday."

Sonic was slightly confused at his reply. He had expected old Egghead to make some rude retort. Something was going on. And he could bet he wasn't going to like it.

The mad doctor confirmed his suspicions just a moment later. "But it's not just _your _birthday, now is it?"

Knuckles came up to his friend when he saw him tense up. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he glared up at the egg-shaped man in his hover craft. "Beat it, Egghead. I don't remember us inviting you to the party." Hate dripped out of his voice.

"Oh? Am I getting on your nerves? Good. That's just what I came here for." The dictator's dragon let out a roar. "And I'm not done!"

Sonic scowled at his nemesis. Did he really have to do this now of all days? He already had problems with his past every once in a while, but Eggman had never brought it up. Why would he now? There were plenty of other ways to get on his nerves. Most involved water. Of all times, he chose to pick his birthday party, with all his friends. All his friends...

He never told them! The only one who knew was Knuckles and that was only because he was part of it. It's not like it's the easiest thing to explain. Especially after so long. Oh, man! He was in big trouble now.

"You never told them, did you?" Eggman's voice took him out of his thoughts. "Although I can't blame you. Something like that is probably better kept a secret."

The hedgehog glanced behind him to his friends. They all looked utterly confused. Amy stepped up. "What are you talking about?"

"His family, of course!"

"Huh?"

The doctor held out a hand towards Sonic, a wicked grin on his face. "How much has this little pest actually told about his past?" No one answered him. "That's what I thought." He signaled to his dragon-bot to attack.

All party-goers scattered as the attack dragon shot flames toward the group. Amy landed closest to Sonic. "Sonic, what was he talking about?!"

The blue blur physically winced when he heard her question. "Listen. Amy." Another blast of fire came toward them. "I'll explain later! Right now, we need to get rid of that thing!"

The only reply was a short nod. He felt really bad about lying to his friends, but at the moment, the bigger concern was the giant robot trying to kill them.

Suddenly, he had an idea. "Everyone! Try to distract it! Amy, come with me." Not checking to see if the others heard him, he grabbed Amy and ran to the top of a loop close by.

Amy rested her hammer on the ground and looked at her so-called-'boyfriend' with a curious look in her eyes. "What's going on in that head of yours, Sonic?"

Said hedgehog was looking toward the battle, calculating distances. He didn't even hear her question. "I think that this is high enough."

"Sonic!"

The sudden yell made him jump almost ten feet in the air from surprise. "Wha-! Uh... Sorry, Amy." He smiled nervously.

The pink hedgehog sighed. He never listens. "What's your plan here?"

Sonic perked. "Oh!" He pointed back to the picnic. "From here, I might be able to hit him, but I need a little boost to reach it. Think you could hit me that far?"

The hammer-happy girl held up her hammer. "I can hit you there and back." She gave him a wink.

He rolled his eyes with his back turned toward her. He didn't want any bruises from that hammer of hers. "Great. Get ready." He started spinning, going faster and faster, until he was only a blue ball. A very deadly blue ball. "Now!"

She hit him as hard as she could. Of course, it didn't hurt him. Not much ever hurt him during a spin dash. That made it perfect for combo attacks. Either Knuckles would punch or kick him, or Amy would hit him with her Piko Piko Hammer to launch him with double the force.

He was right about the height. He hit it square on the head, knocking it off. It landed near Vector and Blaze, who had been shooting their own flames at the bot to keep its attention. The crocodile and cat fell on their rumps in their effort to dodge the metal head. They sighed in relief right before it exploded, covering them with black soot.

The hedgehog came out of his spin, landing a few feet from the decapitated robot. There wasn't a single scratch on him.

The robot, on the other hand, wasn't doing too well. After the blue wrecking ball took its head off, the creation just floated there for a second, like it was thinking about what just happened. (Of course it couldn't; Sonic _had_ taken its head off) Then, after a few sparks of electricity, it burst into flames, falling towards the group. In fact, the fall was angled toward the Eggmobile.

"NO, NO, NO, NO! THIS ISN'T THE END, HEDGEHOG! I'LL GET YOU YET!" For such a big man, he sure could move fast. He was long gone by the time Amy got back.

She waved her hand in front of her face in an effort to keep the smoke out of her face. "Now," she turned to Sonic, "What was he talking about?!"

His expression immediately fell. He looked away, not just from Amy, but from all his friends. Tails slowly inched forward. "Sonic?"

"I'm sorry, okay?!"

The young fox was taken aback at his big brother's sudden burst. He had never done that. Not to Knuckles, not even at Eggman. Nobody. Tails knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. Eggman was right when he said they didn't know much about his past. He would always change the subject when someone brought it up.

Sonic looked down at his shoes. "Sorry, Tails. It's just-" He stopped, glancing to Knuckles for support. Unfortunately, the echidna just shrugged, not sure of what to do.

Tails realized what that meant. "Knuckles, do you know something about this?"

He sadly nodded. Although, he didn't look nearly as miserable as Sonic. The blue hedgehog had his ears folded down; he wasn't meeting anyone's eyes either. His shoulders slumped and he had his arms across his chest. There was what seemed like a film over his emerald eyes, like he was on the verge of tears.

All his friends felt guilty, even Shadow felt bad. This was his birthday and he was spending it being interrogated about his past, which was obviously a touchy subject for him. He was about to cry for goodness sake! He was supposed to be having fun with his friends, not telling them his deepest secret. But curiosity got the better of them. If it was this bad, they wanted to help, but they couldn't do that if he just kept it to himself.

Tails walked up to his best friend to stand right next to him. "Sonic. What happened?"

The not-so-happy birthday boy finally made eye contact, and it broke Tails' heart. He had never seen the hedgehog so defeated. So many emotions were swimming in his eyes. Misery, sadness, regret, longing; all of his emotions were negative. No one knew of anytime that Sonic had ever actually shown these types of emotions. Until now.

Sonic suddenly couldn't handle his emotions anymore.

"I'm so sorry... Just leave me alone..." Sonic whispered as his tears started to run down his cheeks. Without another word, he bolted off at supersonic speed, leaving a sonic boom in his wake.

"Sonic! Come back!" But Sonic was already long gone. Tails' ears folded down. He couldn't help feeling like he had caused Sonic's pain at the moment.

* * *

As he ran, Sonic let his tears stream down his face and trail behind him. He ran for hours, never stopping or changing direction. When the sun started to go down, he finally slowed and came to a stop next to a small stream.

He had stopped crying hours ago, but he still had tear stains on his face. He splashed some water from the stream onto his face to wash off the tear stains. Afterwards, he looked around and took in his surroundings. They were hauntingly familiar.

Knowing exactly where he was, the blue blur took off in the same direction he had been running in all day. As he ran towards his unplanned and surprise destination, Sonic felt a small flicker of hope in his chest, which started to grow as he saw it on the darkening horizon.


	2. Chapter2- Eggman Attacks and City Escape

**DISCLAIMER**: Again, I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

As a certain blue hedgehog ran through the streets at high speed, he took in the sights of his former home.

_'It's so beautiful,'_ Sonic thought as he looked at the restored city. _'It's just like I always dreamed it had looked before the war.'_

As Sonic continued to race through the city, he could hear fireworks going off around the city square. It was a ceremony or celebration of some sort.

* * *

It was the night of the Festival of the Sun. Not only that, it was the birthday of Princess Sonia and Prince Manic! Queen Aleena and King Jules were away on royal business, so Sonia and Manic had to rule in their stead until they got back.

Fireworks fired up towards the night sky. A large boat came in with Princess Sonia and Prince Manic on board, waving to the cheering crowds. Once the boat docked at a large platform overlooked by a large cauldron. They stepped off and walked towards a statue. One of the hooded figures then brought in a torch and bestowed it to Sonia and she looked at it. After a few seconds of staring at the flame, she then visualized a large blast of fire engulfing Mobotropolis and her floating into the air. She noticed Iblis in the distance emerging from a large crater as it gave a ferocious roar before being snapped back to reality.

"Miss Sonia?"

"It- it's all right," Sonia replied, sweating slightly. Manic noticed his sister's fear and comfortingly placed his hand on her shoulder. Sonia resumed the ceremony. "We give thanks for the blessed flames. May we always continue to have peace. Sun of Mobotropolis, guide and watch over us with your eternal light..."

Sonia lit a flame with the torch, which ignited a frame surrounding a pedestal and finally the large cauldron itself. Everyone applauded while more fireworks were launched into the sky.

Suddenly, several missiles streaked through the sky and impacted several buildings around Mobotropolis, causing everyone to instantly go from celebrating to panicking. Sonia and Manic screamed in shock and terror.

A massive battleship, the Egg Carrier, flew over the cauldron and dropped off large robots (Egg Gunners) around Sonia and Manic and the other figures with them.

Dr. Eggman then appeared in his Eggmobile. The Egg Gunners to the sides of the Eggmobile glanced over as their boss confronted the Mobotropolis sovereigns.

"A pleasure to meet you again at last, Prince and Princess of Mobotropolis," Eggman greeted. "I am Dr. Eggman, or as you remember me, Dr. Robotnik." Sonia and Manic gasped in horror. "I've come here to obtain the secret of the Flames of Disaster from you." Eggman pointed to the green Chaos Emerald that Sonia was clutching in her hand. "And to take the miracle gems that are the keys to its secret... The Chaos Emerald!" Sonia pressed the Emerald tightly against her chest in terror, clutching it even tighter. "Now, Your Majesties. This way, please." Eggman pointed in his direction. He was being strangely polite. Sonia and Manic started to back away fearfully.

Suddenly, a blue wind whipped up in a perfect circle around them, blowing up the robes of the bishop and robed figures with Sonia and Manic. They looked around, puzzled. Their attention was suddenly drawn to a protruding piece of debris as a familiar blue hedgehog came to a stop on it.

"My... That's a pretty snazzy performance there," Sonic remarked playfully. Sonia and Manic gasped in shock. They both visualized Sonic as the way he looked when he was younger, the way he looked when they last saw him; he was even standing in the same position as the last moment they saw him.

"You... It can't be!" Sonia said in disbelief. Sonic smirked in amusement at their reaction. He glanced up and one of the Egg Gunners started shooting at him. He jumped up, easily dodging the bullets. He then dispatched all of the robots with his Homing Attack. He stunned the last one with the energy from his earlier attack which dispelled over it. He lightly nudged it with his foot, toppling it over the edge, which he watched with an amused smirk. He then ran back to Sonia and Manic.

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic picked up both of them, causing them to yelp in surprise, and took off.

"Not that irritating hedgehog again!" Eggman growled. "Attack!" The Egg Gunners started to fire missiles at them. Sonia and Manic screamed, clinging to their big brother's neck and shoulders, as some of the missiles impacted dangerously close to Sonic. However, Sonic managed to avoid all of them and escape with his siblings.

Unbeknownst to him, a familiar figure was watching the whole scene from the shadows up on a roof.

"Hmm. So that's why he didn't want to tell us what was upsetting him and ran away," the ebony-furred hedgehog remarked softly, his voice deep and calm. "I'll talk to him about it later." With that, the black hedgehog resumed following Sonic.

* * *

"I can't believe you're alive!" Sonia cried.

"Yeah! We thought you were dead!" Manic added.

Sonic chuckled. "Come on, sibs. You should know me better than that." Said siblings chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, we should have known better," Manic muttered. Sonia and Manic looked over their big brother. He had changed. His quills were longer and he had a leaner body. But what stood out the most was his eyes. They had gone from plain black to a piercing, emerald green.

Sonic had noticed that his siblings looked different now too. Sonia's quills had gotten longer too and her eyes had turned the same emerald green as Sonic's. Manic's quills had gotten longer as well; he was leaner too, and his eyes had become the same cobalt blue as Sonic's fur.

Sonic jumped over a canal, only to find the path blocked by more of Eggman's Egg Gunners.

"Sonic!" Sonia and Manic screamed.

Sonic put his siblings down and quickly took down the robots. Before he even had time to catch his breath, Sonia and Manic screamed. He turned around with a gasp. He gasped as he saw that Eggman had captured them with his Eggmobile while his back was turned.

"I'm afraid our little game ends now," Eggman growled.

Sonia managed to free one of her arms. "Sonic! Take this!" She threw her green Chaos Emerald to him. Sonic caught it and looked at it, feeling its Chaos Energy fill him with its power.

"I've got it! And don't worry, I'll rescue you guys!" he said.

"We know," Manic replied.

Eggman scoffed. "It's only a matter of time before it's mine. Until then, you can hold onto it for me!" Eggman fled with Sonia and Manic into the Egg Carrier and left Mobotropolis while Sonic watched it depart.

Sonic turned to get moving, only to come face to face with the Ultimate Lifeform. Sonic gasped.

"Sh-Shadow!" he stuttered.

Shadow stared at him with his ruby eyes for a moment before speaking. "I saw what happened. Dr. Eggman was right; that's something that might be best kept a secret." Shadow bowed respectfully. "If you ever need help, it would be an honor to assist you. I'll let you know if I find anything about what the Doctor is up to."

Sonic smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Shads."

Shadow smiled warmly, then skated off into the city. Sonic then did the same, heading into another part of the city.

* * *

**How is it so far? I hope you're enjoying it! Please review! By the way, Shadow is going to continue to be nice to Sonic (and the others.)**

**Until the next adventure, keep on running!**


	3. Chapter 3- Reunions and Regrouping

**Please read and review! It really helps! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

"What's Eggman up to?" Sonic muttered to himself as he ran through the streets of Mobotropolis. "I need to gather some information."

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a mouse and a lion were checking on everyone and gathering testimonies from witnesses.

"...and then a blue hedgehog carried them away," a cat informed them.

"Blue hedgehog?" the lion asked in surprise and shock.

The cat nodded. "Yeah. He moved so fast. He was gone in only a few seconds."

The lion turned to the mouse and exchanged a look.

"That sounds like Sonic," the mouse said.

"But he supposedly died in that incident years ago," the lion replied. Before either of them could say anything else, the cat interrupted.

"There he is! Right there!" she shouted. The lion and mouse looked to where the cat was pointing. Sure enough, there was the speedy, blue hedgehog.

"Thank you!" the lion said to the cat as he and the mouse ran after the speedster.

Despite the changes to his appearance, the two recognized their old friend. They were pretty sure it was him, but they had to make sure.

"Sonic!" they both yelled.

Sonic screeched to a halt and turned to see who called him. A big smile crossed his face as he recognized his old friends.

"Cyrus! Trevor!" he exclaimed as he ran to meet them.

"I can't believe it! You're alive!" Trevor, the mouse, said as he and Cyrus, the lion, high-fived Sonic.

"It's good to see you're all right," Cyrus added.

Sonic snickered. "Sonia and Manic said the same thing. It's good to see you guys too."

"Where are they?" Cyrus asked. Sonic's ears folded down and he lowered his gaze.

"Eggman took them," he said sadly.

"Oh."

He raised his gaze to look at them. "I could use some help rescuing them."

"Of course we'll help, Sonic!" Trevor said.

Sonic smiled. "Thank you." The sun was already starting to rise above the horizon. "Let's get going and gather some information. The sooner we start, the sooner we can save my siblings." He took off at high speed.

"Sonic, wait up!" Cyrus yelled after him as he and Trevor tried to keep up.

* * *

The sun was fully risen above the horizon. Tails walked around Mobotropolis with his ears down as some people were pointing at him and murmuring. Due to his sensitive hearing, he overheard some of other people's conversations. Most of them were about him; calling him words and names like freak, abomination, and unnatural. Some of them, however, weren't about him; they were about a 'speedy, blue hedgehog' that tried to rescue their Prince and Princess, but Dr. Eggman had gotten away with them anyway.

_'It sounds like they're talking about Sonic. Maybe he's still nearby,' _Tails thought as he picked up the pace to find his best friend/adoptive big brother.

* * *

Sonic was running around the city with Trevor and Cyrus in tow. So far, they hadn't gotten much progress. Suddenly, they heard a young, male voice call Sonic's name.

"Sonic!"

Sonic spotted a certain two-tailed fox running towards them. "Tails! Long time no see!" Sonic ran to his best friend/adoptive little brother. Tails brightened slightly when Sonic showed no sign of anger or sadness.

_'I'll apologize to him later,' _he thought. Sonic pulled Tails into a guy hug.

Cyrus and Trevor stood nearby, a bit weirded out by Sonic's behavior. Sonic wasn't really a hugger. He seemed to be really close to the kit. What was weird about the fox was that he seemed to have two tails.

"Is he a friend of yours, Sonic?" Cyrus asked somewhat hesitantly. Sonic and Tails broke their hug. Sonic kept his arm around Tails' shoulders.

"Yeah. This is my buddy, Tails. Tails, these are my old friends, Cyrus and Trevor," Sonic introduced.

"Hi," Tails said shyly, slightly hiding behind Sonic. Sonic gently nudged Tails, trying to reassure him and encourage him to not be so shy.

"Nice to meet you, Tails," Trevor replied. Tails shyly shook hands with Trevor and Cyrus.

Tails turned back to Sonic. "I'm glad you're here." Sonic gave an acknowledging nod then started to look around, getting a bit restless. Tails knew Sonic was still listening, even though he was getting restless and not looking at him. "I heard you tried to save their Prince and Princess from Dr. Eggman." Sonic turned away slightly and folded his arms across his chest, staring off into space. "You're going to rescue them, aren't you? Let me help." Sonic quickly turned his head to look at him. Cyrus and Trevor stared at the fox, shocked and confused. "I may not know what Eggman's up to, but it can't be a good thing."

Sonic didn't really need to think it over. He already knew his answer. "Okay," he said, giving a thumbs up. "With your help, this should be a piece of cake."

Tails giggled. "I'll do my best." Sonic turned to Cyrus and Trevor.

"You guys stay in the city and keep trying to find some information. Tails and I will go after Eggman," he told them.

"Okay, Sonic," they said. Sonic and Tails turned around and took off. Tails had to use his twin tails to fly to keep up with Sonic, much to Cyrus' and Trevor's shock. "HE CAN _FLY_?!"

Sonic and Tails burst out laughing.

"I guess we forgot to tell them about that," Sonic managed through his giggles. Tails giggled. "Yeah, I guess so." With that, the two best friends/adoptive brothers continued on their way to Port Mobius, both still snickering.

* * *

"We've gotta hurry and save Manic and Sonia!" Sonic said as he and Tails ran/flew to Port Mobius.

"Hey, Sonic?" Tails asked as they sped towards the docks.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to apologize about yesterday. It was my fault you got upset and ran away, wasn't it?" Tails asked, guilt and pain in his voice. Sonic saw tears forming in the fox's eyes. He shook his head.

"Not at all, buddy," he reassured. "Just some old memories that got too much for me to handle. I needed some time alone to pull myself together."

"Really? I was worried that I ruined our relationship."

Sonic smiled. "That's a lot of worry over little ol' me. Don't worry, Tails. You'll always be my little brother. No matter what."

Tails tackled Sonic with a hug, nearly knocking him off his feet. "Thanks, Sonic!"

Sonic ruffled Tails' bangs. "You're welcome, buddy." They continued on their way, 'wall jumping' off of rock pillars, running across the water/flying over it, and grinding on rails as they sped to catch up with Eggman.

An orca started to jump out of the water as they ran across it/flew over it.

"Whoa! That's a big one!" Sonic exclaimed. It started to chase them, smashing the docks. Eventually, Sonic ran out of dock to run on.

"Jump!" he yelled as he had to jump off of a piece of wood from the dock. He landed on the orca, hanging onto it by its dorsal fin.

"Tails! Go ahead and push the gate switch so he doesn't get out!" Sonic shouted as he hung onto the aquatic mammal's fin.

"Okay, Sonic! I'll be right back!" Tails shouted back as he flew ahead. He flew over the water and tried to avoid Egg Gunners as much as possible, but he threw ring crates at them when he had to.

"Tails, hurry up!" Sonic yelled as the whale started to get close to the gate. Tails sped up and, after dealing with a few more robots, got to the switch and activated it. After picking up Sonic, they continued to pursue Eggman.

* * *

"Darn! We're not gonna make it! Let's speed up!" Sonic said as the Egg Carrier came into view. The two increased their speed, trying to catch up.

"Wha?!" Sonic exclaimed as Egg Gunners flew out of nowhere and got ahead of them. However, they weren't maneuverable enough to avoid smashing into each other and pillars of rock.

They quickly came to an inlet and Eggman was too far away to continue chasing. Suddenly, something fell from the sky and hit Tails on the head.

"Ow!"

As Tails rubbed where he got hit, Sonic picked the object up from the sand. It was Manic's magic, drum set-shaped medallion.

"It looks like the Prince and Princess were moved to another location," Tails said as he stopped rubbing his head. He already had a bruise forming where the medallion had landed on it. "Let's head back to the city." Tails ran off, back towards Mobotropolis.

Sonic stared at his biological brother's medallion for a moment longer before stuffing it into his shoe, where he kept his own, guitar-shaped medallion, then took off after his adoptive brother.


	4. Chapter 4- Rescuing Sonia and Manic

**Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

A certain hedgehog was racing towards Eggman's base in the Northern Plains. Despite the fact that it was morning, it was dark. The hedgehog paused to catch his breath. He shivered as his dark fur was ice-blasted by the blizzard.

"Why on Mobius would the Doctor build a base here? It's _way_ too cold," he growled under his breath. He wrapped his arms around himself and brought his knee to his stomach, trying to conserve body heat. After pulling himself together, he continued on his way.

"You there, buddy?" Sonic asked from a communicator on the hedgehog's wrist as he continued to speed towards Eggman's base.

"Yes. What is it?"

"I just wanted to give you a heads up," Sonic said. "Manic is kinda sensitive, so try not to scare or intimidate him too much."

"I'll try."

"I trust that the rescue will be successful. Be careful."

"I will. Initiating the mission now."

* * *

Manic shivered as he sat in his cold, dark cell. He recalled the last time he saw Sonic.

"You're a good boy, Manic. Remember, be brave. Don't cry, no matter what happens," Sonic cooed as he stroked Manic's quills as he started to lose consciousness again.

As Manic came back to reality, he found himself face to face with ruby eyes. He gasped in shock and alarm, his cobalt eyes wide with fear. Due to the poor lighting, he couldn't make out any distinguishing features of the dark-furred hedgehog, minus his intimidating, blood red eyes and the patch of stark-white fur on his chest. The dark hedgehog gave the emerald hedgehog a once over.

"I certainly see the family resemblance. You don't look like a prince," he said in a soft but deep voice. "Come. We need to leave before the Doctor's defenses get here."

"W-Who are you?" Manic stuttered.

The ebony hedgehog didn't say anything. He simply motioned for him to follow. Manic hesitantly and nervously followed the mysterious hedgehog. As they swiftly walked through the corridor, Manic started to ease up a little.

Suddenly, the alarm went off. The black hedgehog cursed under his breath, angry that they'd been caught. He grabbed Manic's wrist and pulled him along, breaking into a run (technically a skate.) "Come on."

"Wait! I can't run that fast!" Manic protested.

"Shut up and keep running," the dark hedgehog growled.

They stopped as three Egg Gunners blocked the hall. The dark hedgehog pulled out an MP5-K submachine gun from his quills and quickly shot all of them down. Keeping the gun in his right hand, he grabbed Manic's wrist again. They continued to run towards the exit, shooting any robots that dared get in the way.

Manic gasped for air as they came to a stop a few miles away from the base.

"Catch your breath," the black hedgehog growled, putting his gun back in his quills. Manic caught his breath quickly; quick recovery seemed to run in the family.

Now that the lighting was better, Manic was able to get a good look at his rescuer. He had black fur, ruby red eyes, and tan skin on his muzzle and the insides of his ears. He also had red stripes on his head quills, arms, legs, and along the outer edges of his eyes and a patch of long, fluffy, white fur covering his chest. He wore white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, hover shoes with similar cuffs, and a gold ring around each of his wrists and ankles. He had six quills on his head, four of which turned upwards, and two on his back behind his shoulders.

The dark hedgehog noticed more Egg Gunners flying towards them. He scoffed. "Those pieces of junk don't learn their lesson."

Manic yelped as the ebony hedgehog roughly grabbed him and picked him up. He couldn't keep dragging him along; Manic couldn't run fast enough and that might cause them to get caught or hurt.

As Eggman's base and the Egg Gunners got further out of sight, Manic started shivering heavily. He wasn't used to the extreme cold. He tugged his vest tighter around himself, hoping that it would keep him a little warmer.

* * *

Sonia sat in her uncomfortably warm cell, lost in her thoughts. She recalled the last time she saw Sonic.

"You're a good girl, Sonia. Remember, be brave. Don't cry, no matter what happens," Sonic cooed as he stroked Sonia's hair as she started to lose consciousness again.

Sonia snapped back to reality. Suddenly, part of the wall collapsed as Sonic and a young, orangish-yellow fox with two tails broke in. Sonic just smiled while Tails waved in greeting to her.

"Sonic!" Sonia exclaimed, getting up.

"Hi, Sonia," Sonic replied. He flinched as Sonia suddenly hugged him, as he hadn't expected it. Quickly recovering from the shock, he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away so he could look her in the eye. "Now then, are you okay?"

Sonia kept her hands on his collarbone and felt that he wasn't wearing his medallion, which she failed to notice before. She decided not to say anything about it though. "I'm _so_ glad that you came."

Sonic nodded reassuringly. "I always keep my word." He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "By the way, please don't say anything to my friends about me being your brother. They don't know about the whole prince thing. And don't mention my medallion either." Sonia nodded in understanding.

"Sonic!" Tails suddenly yelled. Sonic and Sonia looked to see what Tails was yelling about. Sonic quickly moved into a protective stance.

Eggman had arrived in the cell, with the Egg-Cerberus behind him. "It looks like a pesky rat has stuck its nose where it doesn't belong. Well, a hedgehog to be more precise... The Princess is mine, until I unlock the secret of the Flames of Disaster."

Sonic protectively threw his arms out in front of Sonia. "Tails!"

"Got it! Let's go!" Tails replied, taking a fighting stance with Sonic.

"I'll take care of you now. An early breakfast for my pet," Eggman said as he unleashed Egg-Cerberus on them. Egg-Cerberus roared aggressively. Sonic and Tails fearlessly charged into battle.

"This is your pet, huh? Okay, Eggman. I'll play with him," Sonic quipped. Sonic ran in large circles around the giant, robotic canine, looking for its weak point. Tails did the same as he stayed close to Sonic. The two easily evaded Egg-Cerberus charging at them.

Sonic jumped onto Egg-Cerberus' tail, slid along its back, and jumped onto the antenna, which controlled where it went. "Sonic! Make him run into something!" Tails shouted. Sonic followed Tails' advice, making Egg-Cerberus run into one of the walls, breaking off the mask on its face, which exposed its 'eyes'.

"Hey, I can finally see your face! Now it's my turn!" Sonic said. After avoiding another attack, Sonic tried to get the mechanical beast to run into the wall again, but it managed to turn around at the last second.

"Hmph! Listen to me!" Sonic snapped. After being thrown off, Sonic tried again; this time, managing to get Egg-Cerberus to run into the wall. After a few more rounds of charging and getting thrown off, Sonic got the robot to run into the wall one more time, bringing it down.

"Sonic! I won't let you get away!" Eggman snarled as the hyperactive hedgehog got away with Tails and Sonia.

* * *

The three stopped to catch their breath. Sonia was surprised to see Tails fly. "Is this one of your friends, Sonic?" she asked, gesturing to Tails.

"My name's Miles Prower, but my friends call me Tails," Tails introduced himself. "I'm Sonic's best friend. Right, Sonic?" Sonic smiled and nodded his confirmation.

"I'm Sonia," Sonia said. "Nice to meet you, Tails. How long have you known each other?"

"I was about four. Sonic gave me my nickname because I didn't like my real one too well," Tails explained. He sheepishly scratched his head.

"How old are you now?" Sonia asked curiously.

"I turned twelve a few months ago."

Sonia was surprised. "Really? You look older."

"He acts older too," Sonic added, ruffling the fox's bangs.

Tails laughed while fixing his bangs. "I act older than you!"

Sonic put his friend in a headlock. "Whatever!"

The kit giggled as he struggled against his older opponent. "Yep! Now let go!"

"No way, Tails!" Sonic shot back, giving him a noogie.

Sonia rolled her eyes as she watched the two wrestle with each other. _'Boys.' _She then thought of something as she watched their behavior. _'Sonic used to do that with Manic,' _she realized.

Suddenly, they noticed that a fleet of Egg Gunners was flying towards them. "How long is this gonna go on?" Sonic groaned, crossing his arms over his chest. He flicked his left ear in a dismissive manner, showing that he was starting to get annoyed.

"Let's split up," Tails suggested. "I'll get their attention and you take the Princess." Sonic and Sonia exchanged a look.

"Okay," Sonic said, giving a thumbs up. "You be careful, Tails."

"Leave it to me!" Tails replied. He then took off.

Sonic picked up Sonia, carrying her bridal-style. "Hold on tight!"

"Okay!" Sonia replied. Sonic took off in a different direction than Tails, planning to meet back up later.

Through their triplet telepathy, Sonic had sensed Sonia's thoughts about his and Tails' behavior towards each other. As he ran, Sonic explained to Sonia that, while Tails was his little brother, he wasn't replacing her and Manic with him. They escaped the desert, dealing with Egg Gunners and other Eggman robots along the way.

* * *

**Please keep sending me reviews! It really helps boost my confidence!**


	5. Running Through the Plains and Mephiles

**I don't normally update this quickly, so lucky you guys! I hope you enjoy! Please read and review!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

Sonic and Sonia were now running through a lush green field. Sonia pressed her head against her brother's, nuzzling his soft, cobalt fur. Now that he was sure they were safe, Sonic slowed to a stop, gently setting his sister down.

"I have no words to express how grateful I am for your help..." Sonia said, running a hand through her pink quills and magenta fur. She then noticed a long cut in Sonic's left arm. "You're hurt!"

Sonic looked down at his hurt arm.

"It's nothing," he assured softly. He shook out his arm, trying to ignore the searing pain and looking it over.

"Don't say that!" Sonia retorted gently. She gently took his arm and started to bind the wound with a piece of cloth. Sonic staggered as he half-heartedly tried to escape her help; he knew he wouldn't be able to. He decided to keep himself busy by lightly scratching his muzzle and tapping his foot.

"I'm sorry... It's all my fault..." Sonia remorsed. Sonic looked at her for a moment. He knew that she shouldn't blame herself for him getting hurt.

"Smile," he said simply. Sonia just stared at him. Sonic scoldingly wagged his index finger at her. An iridescent blue-and-purple butterfly flew up and landed on his nose. Knowing he looked silly like that, Sonic turned his head towards her, trying to get her to smile. After staring for a moment, Sonia smiled and gently flicked the butterfly off her brother's nose. They both smiled as they watched the butterfly fly away.

"Your smile... That's all _I_ need," Sonic said. He helped her back up to her feet and they started to walk through the plains together. "Eggman mentioned the Flames of Disaster. That's why he's after you, isn't it?"

"Yes, I think so..." Sonia said sadly.

"You know, I don't really know much about the Solaris Project. All I did was seal Iblis and Mephiles inside you and Manic after the project went wrong," Sonic said.

"The sun god our kingdom honors is Solaris," Sonia informed. "It's told that Solaris' rage would destroy the world. His wrath comes in the form of Iblis, or the Flames of Disaster. As you remember, we almost faced the full force of his fury all those years ago... We thought we'd lost you and Knuckles in that strange explosion shortly after you sealed away Mephiles and Iblis... And now, Robotnik is trying to cause that same disaster again... What can we do?"

Sonia stood there, worrying. Sonic suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, breaking out into a run.

"Sonic? Sonic! Wait!" Sonia protested. "I can't run that fast!"

"Don't worry," Sonic reassured. "Just raise your head and run!" He increased his speed, pulling her along, and they ran through the plains together, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through their fur and quills.

When they finally stopped, Sonia had to sit down and catch her breath.

"Feels great, doesn't it?" Sonic asked.

"Yes..." Sonia said breathlessly. "I- I haven't run that fast in so long..."

"Nothing starts until you take action. If you have time to worry, then run!" Sonic said. He held out his hand and helped her up. They then continued on their way back to Mobotropolis.

* * *

As he skated through the Northern Plains, heading back to Mobotropolis, the black hedgehog felt the Prince in his arms shivering heavily. He was hugging himself tightly and tugging his vest in, desperately trying to stay warm. Without fur on his arms or chest/belly, it was harder to stay warm.

To keep him warm, the dark hedgehog pulled Manic closer and allowed him to bury his muzzle in the fluffy, white fur on his chest. Manic wondered how the dark hedgehog knew who he was and how he knew where to find him. As he contemplated this, he realized that he still didn't know his name.

"Hey," Manic said cautiously.

"What?" the ebony hedgehog growled.

"How did you know who I am, and how did you know where to find me?" Manic asked, nervous from the gruff attitude.

"Your brother sent me. I saw that whole attack on the square. I followed Sonic after he ran away from the birthday party his friends set up for him," the dark hedgehog said.

"You never told me your name," Manic said, easing up a little, knowing that he was sent by Sonic to rescue him.

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow said.

* * *

Shadow and Manic finally made it out of the Northern Plains. Shadow set Manic down and shook the half-melted ice off of his fur and quills. Manic then did the same. Suddenly, they heard a flapping sound as a bird flew over them, startling Manic.

"Yo, what was that?" he asked nervously.

"It's a bird, idiot," Shadow hissed.

"I'm a city boy, okay?" Manic retorted nervously, still intimidated by Shadow.

"Hmph. Are you always this pathetic?" Shadow scoffed.

"What?!" Manic snapped.

"You got startled by a _bird_, and when we've come across Eggman's robots, you've done nothing but cower like the scaredy-cat you are," Shadow growled, baring his fangs. "Your cowardice brings shame on _all_ hedgehog-kind."

Manic desperately tried not to cry, knowing that Mephiles' seal would be broken if he did. He remembered Sonic's words again.

_'Yes, Manic... Don't cry, no matter what happens.'_

Manic couldn't hold back. His tears escaped his eyes, breaking Mephiles' seal.

Shadow stepped back in confusion and alarm as Mephiles started to escape out of Manic's chest. Mephiles took the form of Shadow's shadow. He looked nearly identical to Shadow; his stripes were gray instead of red, his rings were silver instead of gold, and his eyes were green instead of ruby.

"Oh no..." Manic whimpered as he cowered in terror.

"Oh, yes, Manic," Mephiles said. "I have waited for this day for years."

"Who are you?" Shadow asked.

"Mephiles the Dark," Mephiles replied. "Now that I'm free, I can rejoin with Iblis, and destroy this pathetic world." Mephiles started to laugh maniacally. Before Shadow could try to attack, Mephiles teleported away.

Shadow turned to Manic. Manic was trembling like a leaf and had tears streaming down his face.

"Sonic's gonna kill me..." he whimpered.

"Sonic told me not to scare or intimidate you. Now I see why," Shadow said. "He's not going to be happy about this." Shadow turned to the side and activated his communicator. "Sonic?"

"Shadow? Did the mission go okay?" Sonic asked through the communicator.

"Yes, but there's a problem..." Shadow said.

"Is Manic all right?!" Sonic asked worriedly.

"Physically, I think so. Emotionally, no."

"I told you not to scare him!" Sonic snapped.

"That's not the problem," Shadow said.

"Sonic?" Manic said shakily. "Mephiles is free..."

"WHAT?!" Sonic and Sonia yelled.

"I'm sorry..." Manic started crying again.

Sonic took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's okay, Manic. It'll be all right. Also, Shadow, I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's all right. Who is Mephiles the Dark?" Shadow asked.

"Bring Manic and meet me back at Mobotropolis," Sonic said. "I'll tell you there. It's a long story."

"Understood." Shadow then turned to Manic. "Hold on to my arm," he told him.

"Okay?" Manic was confused, but didn't protest. As he obeyed, Shadow took out the red Chaos Emerald from his quills and focused on its energy, feeling it give him even more power.

"Chaos Control!" A white light enveloped the two hedgehogs, instantly teleporting them to their destination.

* * *

**Please keep sending me reviews! It might help me update faster!**


	6. Chptr6-The Incident and Shadow's Remorse

**Please read and review! I hope you enjoy! By the way, Sonic and Shadow have a relationship development in this chapter, so Shadow has a character development, so he might be OOC. Also, don't get used to be updating this often.**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

Sonic and Sonia found Shadow and Manic waiting for them near the building that was formerly the Resistance's base.

"Good, you're here," Shadow said.

"Manic! Where's your medallion?!" Sonia asked.

"Wha-?" Manic looked down and saw that his medallion was gone. "I don't know! I thought I had it!"

"Calm down. It's okay," Sonic reassured. "It's right here." He reached into his shoe and pulled out Manic's medallion. Sonia and Manic sighed in relief as Manic took his medallion back.

"I almost had a heart attack..." Sonia muttered.

Shadow cocked his head slightly. "Do all of you have one?"

Sonic nodded. "Yes."

"That reminds me. What happened to yours, Sonic?" Sonia asked, a hint of a growl in her voice.

"I took it off. I didn't want anyone to see it and possibly recognize it as an Artifact of the Royal Hedgehogs and figure out who I was," Sonic informed. "It's right here." He dug into his shoe again and pulled out his own medallion.

"Ew," Sonia expressed her disgust. "Why would you keep it in your shoe?"

"I almost never take them off, so it's the safest place I can think of," Sonic explained.

"Can I see it?" Shadow asked. Sonic nodded and handed the medallion to him. Shadow looked it over, examining its intricate design. It was made of some kind of silvery-white crystal, was shaped like a multi-necked guitar that was also shaped like Sonic's head, and tied to a red string. "Hmm... Interesting..."

He handed the medallion back to Sonic, then stared at Sonia and Manic's medallions. Sonia's was shaped like a keyboard and was tied around her neck with a yellow string. Manic's was shaped like a drum set and was tied around his neck with a blue string. They were both made of the same material as Sonic's.

"Anyway..." Shadow resumed. "Who is Mephiles?"

"I guess I should start from the beginning," Sonic started. "The three of us were on a mission; we had to destroy a new base off the coast of the Mobian Sea. I was a little nervous. After all, I do really hate water, which I guess is why Egghead chose to build it so close to the ocean."

* * *

**(Flashback; _Sonic is explaining all this to Shadow_)**

Sonia was driving while Manic banged his drumsticks on the dash of their van. Sonic was in the back trying not to have a panic attack. Sonia and Manic tried to cheer him up.

"We're only going to the base, not the water," Sonia reminded.

"Yeah, and we'll be right there with you," Manic reassured.

That did make Sonic feel a little better, but he still had a really bad feeling in his gut. A feeling that had nothing to do with his fear of water, but a feeling that this was going to end up bigger than just destroying a base.

And, boy, was he right.

It took a few hours of bumpy roads, SWATbot patrols, and getting lost whenever Manic decided to drive, but they finally made it to the base. The place was huge. It looked to be 5 stories high and about 30 times the width of their van. The top two floors of the building had windows circling the entire thing. Some of them looked like they were glowing.

There wasn't much security around. Only a few patrols walking around the perimeter, and not even in large groups.

There was one bot guarding both of the entrances. One was a large metal door that probably weighed more than the building. It was pure black with huge chains keeping it from opening. It might have just been decoration of some kind, though. The other was a small garage door with a passcode lock on it with a SWATbot next to it, guarding against intruders. That was their way in.

It took less than ten minutes to get to the door. The guard was easy enough to get rid of; one laser blast and it was gone. It took barely any time to hack into the building too. Not even two minutes and they were in. Easy. A little too easy for Sonic's comfort.

The inside was even less spectacular than the outside. Outside, it was big and dark, but inside, it was kind of plain. Not all the lights were working, so you'd have to walk through a dark area every few feet. For a new top secret base, it wasn't kept very well. The smell of the sea floated in the air, as though a constant reminder of where they were.

_'Thanks for that Buttnik,' _Sonic thought grumpily.

Every once in a while, they would find a room as they walked down the hall. Most were locked, and the few that weren't were completely empty.

The farther in they went, the more Sonic thought of how easily they got in, of the giant metal door that was impossible to open, and the bad feeling that was growing inside him. Sonic looked over at his siblings and asked if they had any of the suspicions he did. They didn't.

They found the room where some Resistance spies were working on a top-secret project. The Solaris Project. The Royal Hedgehog triplets joined them, watching a cylinder filled with sparkling orange energy.

"An electromagnetic pulse has just been generated!" one of the scientists exclaimed in alarm. "Injecting decompression agent!" There was a brief pause. "No! The level's not dropping! A spatial meltdown is inevitable! Your Majesties, it's too late! We've got to take cover!"

"Why, Solaris?! Why do you refuse to listen to us?!" Sonia exclaimed.

"Get down!" Sonic screamed.

Just as the cylinder blew up, the Sonic sheltered Sonia and Manic from the explosion. The Resistance spies didn't survive the explosion, Sonia and Manic lost consciousness, and Sonic somehow managed to stay awake, despite taking more of the force of the explosion than his siblings. Sonic looked up and watched Solaris split into Iblis and Mephiles.

He spotted a Chaos Emerald nearby on the floor. He quickly picked it up and concentrated on its power. He wasn't sure how he knew what he was doing, but he did. The Chaos Emerald, Manic and Sonia, and Iblis and Mephiles started to glow as the process of drawing Iblis into Sonia and Mephiles into Manic began.

"...What? ...Stop!" Mephiles protested. "Who... Who are... you?"

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic said.

"Sonic... Your face... Your form... I will remember. Your death... Certain... You... will... die!" Mephiles hissed as he was completely sealed within Manic and Iblis was completely sealed within Sonia.

Sonic set the Chaos Emerald down and sat down next to his siblings, stroking their hair and quills. He gently told them to stay strong and never cry, no matter what.

He got up and took a deep breath, trying to stay strong himself. As he started to leave to confront Robotnik, they started to wake up.

"Sonic?"

Sonic looked back at them and smiled, but it was forced, although they couldn't see that it was fake.

_'Goodbye, sibs,' _Sonic thought as silent tears ran down his cheeks as he ran to confront Robotnik. _'I'll never forget you.'_

He stopped as he came to the door where Robotnik was waiting inside. He took a deep breath to prepare himself and dried his tears, then went in.

* * *

**(Back to reality; _Sonic is finishing his story_)**

"...I never knew that through that door would be what changed my life forever. That would lead me to new places and new friends. That would take me away from the life I knew into a whole new life. The life of Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic finished. "I don't know how long I was passed out after that Chaos Control. It might have been a few minutes, it might have been hours. When I did wake up, I found myself in the Green Hill Zone."

Shadow was staring at his blue rival with his mouth open slightly.

_'So that's what happened. Looks like he's been through more than I thought. He may have gone through even more than that...' _Shadow thought to himself, feeling sorry for how much pain Sonic must have gone through in his life. He started to feel guilty about how much he has mocked Sonic about being weak. He felt like he understood Sonic better now. They were more alike than he ever thought.

"I'm so sorry, Sonic..." Shadow whispered, looking down at his shoes.

Sonic quickly looked up at his black rival, wondering if he heard him right. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry. You've clearly been through a lot, and I've mocked you about being weak so many times. And you told me not to scare Manic, but I didn't listen..." Shadow said, looking up at the cobalt hedgehog. Sonic saw guilt swirling in the ebony hedgehog's ruby irises.

"It's okay, Shadow. It's not your fault that you look so intimidating. And don't worry, we can fix this," Sonic reassured. The guilt in Shadow's eyes was replaced with thankfulness.

Shadow felt some affection for Sonic rise up in his chest. _'Sonic is so sweet. He truly has a heart of gold. Even after all the things I've done, he forgives me.' _His pupils dilated to nearly double their normal size and his eyes got shiny.

"Thank you, Sonic..." Shadow managed. He had already begun to develop some affection for Sonic over the course of their adventures and encounters, but this adventure was making it grow so fast. He gave Sonic a genuine, friendly smile.

Sonic smiled back, feeling affection rise up in his own chest. "You're welcome, Shads."

"Ugh, you two being all mushy is making me sick," Sonia said, getting annoyed with the two boars.

Sonic gave the sow an annoyed glare while Shadow went back to his usual scowl. Shadow bared his fangs in a low growl. Manic cowered slightly and Sonia stepped back, startled by Shadow's sudden hostility.

"See you later, Faker," Shadow said, turning back to his rival. "I've got something else to do."

Sonic rolled his eyes at the nickname, but smiled anyway. "Later, Shads," he replied as Shadow skated away. The triplets started to walk back to the main part of the city.

* * *

**How was it? By the way, if you're getting Sonadow vibes, that is NOT my intention. It's supposed to be a brotherly relationship. If you didn't know, "boar" is the term for a male hedgehog, and "sow" is the term for a female hedgehog, so there's a nature factoid for you guys! Reviewer, GuardianDragon98, did this chapter answer your question?**

**Anyway, until the next chapter!**


	7. Chptr 7- Jules Attacks and To the Future

**Sorry for this chapter being a bit un-detailed. I'll try to make the next chapter more detailed. Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

The Hedgehog triplets were walking when Sonic's ears suddenly perked. He stopped and held out his hand as if to say, 'wait a second.' His left ear twitched before he suddenly grabbed his siblings and jumped to avoid an incoming attack. Manic and Sonia cried out as the electrokinetic blast harmlessly impacted where they had been a moment before.

"I've been looking for you," a mysterious, male voice said. "You're the 'Iblis Trigger'." The voice came from a blue hedgehog that appeared to be in his late thirties. He looked nearly identical to Sonic. However, his eyes were chestnut brown instead of emerald green, he wore brown gloves with gold cufflinks, brown boots, a dark red vest, had a large tuft of brown hair with gray streaks near his forehead, and wore a gold crown on his head.

The older blue hedgehog jumped down from the roof he was standing on, landing a few yards away from the teenaged hedgehogs. "Your actions will condemn us all," he growled, pointing at Sonic.

Sonic protectively threw his arms in front of his siblings. "Who are you?"

"My name is King Jules," the adult hedgehog growled. Sonic's eyes widened at this.

"Father, you're making a mistake! Sonic is-" Sonia tried to protest.

"Silence!" Jules ordered. Sonia obeyed and Manic cowered behind her. "For the future of this kingdom and the world, I will destroy you!"

Sonic prepared himself to fight his own, unknowing, father. Sonic quickly won using his speed and unique, breakdance-like, fighting style. Jules had fought mainly with electrokinetic blasts. Sonic was young and more agile, Jules was getting old, making it even harder to keep up with the hypersonic teenager.

Sonic, somewhat hesitantly, walked up to Jules, who was on his hands and knees, exhausted from the fight, while Sonia and Manic watched anxiously. "Hey."

Jules electro-kinetically attacked Sonic, throwing him towards a building. Sonic slammed hard against the stone, grunting in pain, and fell down to the ground on his knees after hitting it. Sonia and Manic looked on with worry, unable to do anything, as Sonic gasped for air as Jules approached him.

"Hmph! Is this a joke?" Jules scoffed. "How could someone like _you_ cause the destruction of our world?" Unknown to everyone, two robotic hands appeared behind Sonia and Manic.

"What do you... mean?" Sonic asked, starting to catch his breath.

"It doesn't matter," Jules said, shaking his head dismissively. "For the sake of the future, the Iblis Trigger must be destroyed!" Just as Jules was about to finish Sonic off, Sonia and Manic screamed. Sonic and Jules looked up to see the Eggmobile capturing them!

"Manic, Sonia?!" Sonic and Jules shouted at the same time.

"Wait!" Sonic yelled. He quickly got up and tried to go after Sonia and Manic, but Jules attacked him again in the back, knocking him down.

"Don't you _dare _turn your back on me!" Jules snarled. "It's time I finally put an end to this!" He prepared to attack Sonic again, but was interrupted by none other than Amy!

"Stop!" Amy stepped between the two cobalt hedgehogs, stopping Jules from attacking.

"Amy? Get out of my way, Amy! This is _my_ mission!" Jules growled.

"Absolutely not!" Amy retorted, shaking her head for emphasis. Jules grunted in frustration.

Sonic finally got to his feet, wincing internally as he did so. "Thanks, Amy. I appreciate it," he said weakly before taking off.

"Leave it to me!" Amy replied, holding Jules off while Sonic escaped to catch up with Eggman and Sonia and Manic. Sonic was completely out of sight in only a few seconds.

Amy continued to block Jules' way. "The person you were looking for was Sonic? Were you planning to kill him?"

Jules pondered for a moment before replying angrily. "He'll be responsible for destroying the world!"

"That's crazy!" Amy retorted. She pointed accusingly at Jules. "Sonic would _never_ do that!"

"But it's true!" Jules argued. "In the near future, his actions will cause the devastation of the world. So I must..."

"No!" Amy interrupted him. "I don't believe it. Even if that was true. If I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I would choose Sonic!" With that, Amy left in disbelief. Jules tried to explain, but stopped. He hung his head down in confusion, wondering what to do.

* * *

"Sonic! Can you hear me?" Tails asked through Sonic's communicator. "Knuckles wants to see you! Head to the city's warehouse."

"Got it," Sonic replied. He headed to the warehouse, meeting up with Tails on the way.

They walked up to Knuckles, who was waiting, somewhat impatiently, for them. He was holding some kind of metal card.

"Knuckles," Sonic greeted.

"I saw Eggman on the outskirts of the city," Knuckles said. He threw the card to Sonic. "He wanted to give this to you." Sonic looked at the card and a holographic message from Eggman came out of it.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. If you want me to return the Prince and Princess, you must give me your Chaos Emerald. Meet me at my base in the Northern Plains."

Sonic tossed the card back at Knuckles, who fumbled it before dropping it.

"Huh. He's pretty cocky," Knuckles scoffed, crushing the card by stomping on it.

"It's most definitely a trap," Tails remarked. "I don't think Eggman will honor his agreement!"

Sonic had taken his Chaos Emerald out of his quills and was looking at it. "I'm going," he stated.

Tails stared at him in surprise. "Sonic?"

"Since Eggman went to the trouble of telling me where Sonia and Manic are, I think I should thank him personally." Sonic practically purred it. Tails and Knuckles exchanged a look then shrugged. With that, Team Sonic headed for the Northern Plains.

* * *

"This is a pretty cold place for a base," Sonic remarked as they got close to Eggman's base. Soon, after breaking through Eggman's defenses, they arrived. They went to the room where Eggman was waiting for them.

"You're late," Eggman growled. The three looked around for Eggman, finding him looking down at them from an upper viewing area.

"Well, we had to deal with your little pets," Knuckles snarked.

"Where are Manic and Sonia?" Sonic asked, getting a little impatient.

"My, aren't we impatient..." Eggman sneered. He grabbed Manic and Sonia, holding them to his side.

"Sonic!" Manic cried out.

"Knuckles!" Sonia cried out at the same time. Sonic and Knuckles, along with Tails, got ready to fight.

"Ah, ah," Eggman scolded. "You better not move. Now, the Chaos Emerald..." Sonic hesitantly took out his Chaos Emerald. "Place it there." Eggman pointed to a capsule that rose from the floor while Sonia and Manic shook their heads, to which Eggman tightened his grip on them. Sonic placed the Emerald in the capsule, hesitating slightly, and it receded back into the floor. Eggman smiled wickedly before he then pressed a button on a control panel next to him. "Hmph!"

A pink force field generated from the ceiling, surrounding Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.

"Huh?! Wha-?!" Tails exclaimed in shock and alarm.

"Wha?!" Knuckles exclaimed at the same time. He tried to punch the field, but it knocked him back.

"It's no use," Eggman said sinisterly. "It's too powerful for you to overcome. Now allow me to introduce you to my latest creation. This is the Solaris prototype." Manic and Sonia gasped at this. Eggman laughed maniacally and pulled a handle on a nearby control podium. "With this machine, I'll be able to control the flow of time itself!"

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles screamed as they got sucked upwards by the machine. "Whooa!" "Ahhhhh!" "Arrrrrhhhh!"

The force field then disappeared along with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Sonia and Manic leaned against the window in despair at what they just witnessed.

"Rest assured..." Eggman said. "They're not dead... yet. They've just been teleported by my glorious invention to another time. Who knows where they'll end up? It could be the distant past or far future. But my machine still requires some fine-tuning. In fact, what my machine needs in order to be complete, is your powers."

"Our powers?" Sonia asked.

"Yes, I can finally complete my plans..." Eggman started. "Now that I have the Chaos Emeralds, and you two... The Prince and Princess of Mobotropolis. That's all I need to revive the Flames of Disaster. And with its power, I will be able to control everything and rule the world. So, you two would be wise to remain on my 'good' side." Eggman walked away. Sonia put her hands together to pray as she and Manic looked skyward.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Of course, if you've played/watched Sonic '06, you can probably guess what's next. By the way, Sonic and Shadow will have more bonding moments from here on out.**


	8. Chapter 8- The Future

**Sorry I didn't post a chapter yesterday. Sonic and Shadow have another brotherly bonding moment in this chapter. Also, Sonic has a surprise transformation towards the end. See if you can find it. Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

Team Sonic screamed as they fell down from the machine in the top of the room, still in Eggman's base, but in a different point in time. Sonic flipped and landed on his feet, Tails landed on his rump, and Knuckles landed on his head.

"Ow!" Tails complained. "Boy, do I feel dizzy..." The three got up and looked around.

"Where are we?" Tails asked. Sonic's ears twitched as he heard someone approach them from the higher ledge.

"Oh, look who's here. I didn't expect to see _you_ guys," a familiar female voice said. Team Sonic looked up to see a certain bat and black hedgehog.

"Rouge! Shadow!" Tails exclaimed, glad to see familiar faces.

"Hi. Long time no see!" Rouge greeted, waving.

Shadow just stood there with his arms crossed, being broody, as usual. He was staring intently at Sonic. Sonic saw Shadow's pupils dilate, indicating that he was glad to see him.

The two groups went through a portal in the base, sending them to Mobotropolis in this time. The entire city was in flaming ruins.

"This is the distant future, far removed from our own timeline," Shadow explained.

"The future?" Tails asked. "Then that means Eggman's machine can control time!"

"Eggman's got some nerve dropping us here," Sonic growled.

Knuckles kicked a rock. "Now, how can we get back to our own time?"

"You need a space-time rift, but this requires a lot of energy," Shadow informed.

"I see. You mean, using your Chaos Control will..." Sonic said.

"Yes. But that alone is insufficient," Shadow said, pointing at the cobalt hedgehog.

Sonic nodded understandingly and gave a thumbs up. "Okay, Shadow. It looks like we need to work together." Shadow nodded in agreement, giving him a tiny smile, which only Sonic saw. "I already have a Chaos Emerald, so we just need to find another." Sonic pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald to prove it.

"Let's split up to look for it," Tails suggested.

"Can I switch places with Tails and Knuckles?" Shadow asked. "I want to talk to Sonic alone."

"What are you up to, Shadow?" Knuckles growled. He didn't trust the ebony hedgehog. Shadow growled back, telling the red echidna to back off.

"It's okay, Knux. I think I know what he wants to talk about," Sonic reassured.

Before anyone could protest, the two hedgehogs ran off to talk and look for the Chaos Emerald.

"Okay, those two boars are hiding something," Rouge grumbled. "Shadow has _never_ been that nice to anyone, especially not Sonic."

_'Did... Shadow... find out Sonic's secret?' _Knuckles thought. _'Naw, he couldn't have. Besides, there's no way he'd keep THAT a secret.'_

Knuckles shook his head. "Come on. Let's find that Chaos Emerald." The group then left to look for the Chaos Emerald.

* * *

"What'd you wanna talk about, Shads?" Sonic asked as he ran alongside his friend, dodging fire monsters and jumping over chasms.

"I wanted to get to know you a little better," Shadow replied. That wasn't what Sonic had expected.

"Well, I was in a band with my siblings, the Sonic Underground, when we were together," Sonic said. "I still write songs, I just don't share them with anybody."

"Now that we're friends, and I know that you're the long-lost Crown Prince of Mobotropolis, you can share them with me. I'd love to hear one someday," Shadow said, giving a friendly smile as they jumped off another building. Sonic smiled back.

"Now it's my turn to tell you something about me," Shadow said. Sonic curiously cocked his head. "I have clinical vampirism."

"What does _that_ mean?" Sonic asked, a little confused.

"I'm addicted to drinking blood," Shadow clarified. Sonic looked a bit horrified and disgusted by this. They stopped walking.

Shadow looked a little sad and his ears drooped slightly as he continued. "It's gotten so bad that I _have_ to drink blood or I'll get sick and be hardly able to move."

Sonic gave the ebony hedgehog a sympathetic look. He felt bad. He'd never seen the Ultimate Lifeform so defeated. He wanted to comfort Shadow, but was worried that he wouldn't accept it. In a very unexpected display of affection, Shadow leaned forward and pressed his cheek against Sonic's. Shadow just about purred as Sonic leaned into the face-hug.

Sonic pulled Shadow into a hug and comfortingly pat his back. "It'll be okay, Shads," he reassured.

"Thank you..."

Sonic pulled out of the hug and smiled at Shadow. "Come on, let's see if the others have found a Chaos Emerald." Shadow nodded and the two took off again for the rendezvous with the other group. On the way, Sonic had a vision, which he told Shadow about; two days after the Festival of the Sun, Sonia and Manic would die on Eggman's battleship (which would malfunction and explode), releasing Iblis, resulting in the future that they were in.

* * *

"You guys are _so_ slow," Rouge teased. Sonic and Shadow gave her a death glare. "Look." She held up the red Chaos Emerald, which Shadow had lost after using Chaos Control.

"A Chaos Emerald!" Shadow said. He took it from Rouge while Sonic took his blue one out of his quills. The two looked at each other and nodded.

"Chaos Control!" they both said as they held up their Emerald, focusing on their power. The Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly, then emitted a white swirling light into the air that transformed into a blue, swirling portal, suspended in mid-air. Rouge, Tails, and Knuckles went through the portal.

Shadow turned around, sensing something behind them. Mephiles appeared and, instead of joining the others, the two hedgehogs went after Mephiles to confront him while the time-space rift closed behind them.

* * *

The portal opened in Mobotropolis. Rouge and Knuckles landed on their feet, but Tails landed on his butt again. "Ow..."

"Looks like we made it back in one piece," Knuckles remarked.

Tails got up, looked around, and noticed the lack of hedgehogs. "Where did Sonic and Shadow go? Did they appear someplace else?"

"Those guys can take care of themselves," Rouge said.

* * *

"Why are you here?" Sonic hissed.

"Did you ruin this world?" Shadow growled.

"The answer's yes and no. Perhaps it's better to show you," Mephiles answered. He snapped his fingers and a cage with a future version of Shadow imprisoned in it appeared. Sonic and Shadow looked at it with wide eyes.

"Yes, that's you. After the world was devastated by Iblis' flames, what do you think happened? A search for the guilty. What did this, you may ask? Humanity wasn't just jealous of your power. They feared it. They used this incident as an excuse to hunt you down. Come with me, Shadow. Let us punish this foolish world of humanity. It is only fair to give back what was intended for you. You have every right to want justice," Mephiles purred, trying to sway the anti-hero.

"That's absurd. Whatever it is you want to do, you can do it alone," Shadow spat, his voice dripping with venom.

"You forgive humanity this folly then?" Mephiles asked, gesturing to the cage.

"_I_ determine my _own_ destiny," Shadow growled. Mephiles changed his form again, turning into a more crystalline form. Shadow and Mephiles got ready to fight.

After fighting viciously, Mephiles was down as Shadow approached him, but Mephiles got up and knocked Shadow into a tree with an energy ball, incapacitating him. Shadow grunted in pain as his back slammed into the tree.

"Shadow!" Sonic screamed, concerned for his friend. He had a flashback to his first battle with Shadow; Shadow was lying facedown on the ground, unconscious and beaten. He was bleeding in some places and was trembling from exhaustion. He had felt so guilty and sorry for the hedgehog. It had pained him to bring such harm to somebody, even though they were enemies.

Seeing the helpless form of Shadow on the ground now enraged Sonic. He let out a subdued, but furious growl. Mephiles moved towards Shadow, about to finish him off when Sonic suddenly shot him away, using Chaos Spear for the first time in his life.

"What?" Mephiles growled, taken off-guard by the aggression.

Shadow stared in disbelief. "Sonic?"

Sonic transformed into Dark Super Sonic. His cobalt fur turned black, his tan-ish peach skin turned dark gray, his eyes turned completely white, his quills turned upwards, and he gained a blackish-blue, flame-like aura. Unlike every other time had he achieved this transformation, he was still calm enough to keep his self-control.

With an angry battle cry, Dark Super Sonic charged at Mephiles and viciously fought him. Mephiles teleported away after losing.

"Get back here, Mephiles!" Dark Super Sonic spat.

"Sonic... calm down. We'll get him," Shadow said, getting to his feet, mostly recovered.

Sonic took a deep breath to calm himself and powered down to his real form. His ears drooped as he looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry... I really hate it when I get like that..."

Shadow comfortingly put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "But at least you didn't lose control of yourself that time," he reassured him. "Come on, let's go back so we can save your siblings in time."

Sonic nodded and they used Chaos Control again to get back to the present.

* * *

**Dark Super Sonic! Don't get your hopes up, he probably won't appear in this story again. Again, please keep sending me reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9- Sonic's Promise

**More brotherly bonding for Sonic and Shadow! Please read and review! I hope you enjoy! Also, shout-out to GuardianDragon98 for all of the kind reviews!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

Shortly after they had returned to their time, Shadow left to take care of some 'personal business'. Sonic received some intel from Cyrus and Trevor that Eggman put Sonia and Manic on a train that was going to crash/explode. He had successfully rescued them and was now carrying them back to Mobotropolis.

"I knew it... I knew you'd return! You had to!" Sonia exclaimed. Sonic gasped as he saw an incoming attack and jumped to avoid it. He gently set his siblings down and looked at the source of the attack: King Jules.

"...You again," Sonic said somewhat bitterly.

"This time there will be no more interruptions! The Iblis Trigger... must die!" Jules growled, pointing at Sonic. Sonic glared defiantly, ready to fight his father again.

"Sonic..." Sonia and Manic whimpered. Jules fired an energy blast, which Sonic dodged by rolling out of the way. Jules then grabbed Sonic in a electrokinetic hold, paralyzing him. Sonia and Manic watched helplessly.

"So how was your little walk, Your Majesties?" Eggman came up behind them in his Eggmobile, grabbed them with its two hands, and flew away. The two screamed as they were carried away.

"Sonia! Manic!" Sonic yelled. He tried to go after them, but Jules strengthened his electrokinetic hold on him with a scoff.

"It's time to end this!" Jules growled. He moved to deliver the final blow, but-

Having seen all this, and his protective big brother instincts kicking in, Shadow leapt down, landing in-between the two cobalt hedgehogs, forcing Jules to jump back to avoid being landed on. Sonic collapsed as Jules' electrokinetic hold on him was dropped.

"Who?!" Jules exclaimed, shocked and confused.

Shadow looked up, his ruby eyes meeting Jules' chestnut ones.

"Mephiles! Why are you getting in my way?!" Jules snarled. Shadow stood up, glaring at the king.

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow corrected, crossing his arms over his chest. Jules glared back at the ebony hedgehog, annoyed with being stopped. Shadow looked over his shoulder at Sonic.

"Thanks, Shads," Sonic thanked him, giving a thumbs up. Shadow smiled and gave an acknowledging nod.

Sonic took off after Eggman and his siblings. Shadow looked back at Jules, glaring again. The two got ready to fight.

After a long battle, the two hedgehogs were both breathing hard. Jules yelled angrily as he raised his fist and attempted to punch Shadow.

Shadow pulled out his red Chaos Emerald. "Chaos Control!" He slowed time down and roundhouse-kicked Jules in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground.

Jules partially got back up and glared at Shadow. "Y-you..." he growled.

"Don't bother," Shadow scoffed. "With a Chaos Emerald's power, I control time and space. You can't break free."

"I won't give up! It all depends on me! Can't lose... Not when I'm so close!" Jules stated, getting to his feet. Shadow now understood where Sonic's stubbornness came from. "I won't let anyone get in my way! I'll change the present and save the world!"

Shadow shook his head in disappointment and disapproval. "Mephiles isn't trying to help you create a better future... He's trying to eliminate the past and the Royal Hedgehogs," he explained.

"What? What are you talking about?" Jules asked. Shadow gave Jules a bitter look of disgust.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. Trying to kill your own son..." Shadow scolded.

"What are you talking about?" Jules asked indignantly.

"Surely you haven't failed to notice Sonic's resemblance to you?" Shadow sneered, making fun of Jules' ignorance. Jules thought it over, and he looked horrified as he realized what Shadow was saying.

"You mean... Sonic is my oldest son? And Mephiles tried to make me kill him...?" Jules asked, horrified. Shadow snickered, amused by Jules' reaction.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better catch up and make sure Faker doesn't hurt himself," Shadow said, turning around. He skated after Sonic.

* * *

Sonia and Manic were standing on the edge of the Eggmobile.

"Now stop it," Eggman scolded. "You have nowhere to go."

"We would rather _die_ than be your prisoners again!" Manic spat.

"Hmph! So what are you going to do, Your Majesties?" Eggman asked, shrugging questioningly. "Do you plan to _jump_?" He pointed down at the ground for emphasis.

The hedgehogs anxiously looked down at the ground, which was several stories down. They didn't want to die, but they didn't want to be Eggman's prisoners again. Sonic was running on the ground, trying to get to them in time.

"Farewell," Sonia dismissed. She and Manic leaned back and fell over the edge of the Eggmobile, plummeting towards the ground, leaving Eggman stunned.

"Huh?!" Eggman exclaimed. Sonic arrived just in time, allowing himself to slide. He caught his siblings in his arms just before they hit the ground.

"Sonic!" Sonia and Manic exclaimed happily.

Eggman growled. "You won't get away that easily!" He sent the Egg-Genesis after them, which Sonic quickly destroyed. During the battle, Shadow showed up to help, making defeating the machine even easier.

* * *

The group of hedgehogs stopped so Sonia and Manic could catch their breath.

"That was a gutsy move back there," Sonic said, pointing with his thumb in the direction they came from.

"Well, we were desperate... and, um... we just had to get away," Manic explained.

"We owe you a lot, Sonic," Sonia said.

"Uh..." Sonic said. He chuckled nervously.

"You too, Shadow," Manic added. Shadow just scoffed. Sonic turned to see a large hoard of Egg Gunners flying towards their direction.

"We'll head into the jungle!" Sonic said.

Sonia nodded. "Okay!" Sonic carried Sonia while Shadow carried Manic.

Shadow sighed with irritation. "I did _not_ sign up for this," he grumbled under his breath, which only Sonic heard, thanks to his enhanced hearing.

Sonic chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Shadow..." he apologized quietly. They then took off into the jungle to escape the Egg Gunners.

* * *

Deep within the forest, Sonic, with Sonia in his arms, and Shadow, with Manic in his arms, were running through the lush jungle.

"Hmm... It looks like we've lost them," Sonia remarked.

"Shadow and I'll settle things here. Sonia, Manic, you guys should go back to the castle.

"Okay..." Sonia and Manic said at the same time. Sonic noticed the disappointment in their voices and decided to make a detour. He gestured with his head to Shadow for him to follow, then made a sharp turn to the right, Shadow following.

"Sonic?" Sonia asked, confused. They came to a stop by a lake surrounded by green grass and numerous trees. Sonia, Manic, and even Shadow were awestruck by the beauty of their surroundings.

"It's so beautiful! I've never seen so many flowers before!" Manic said, completely awestruck.

"Sonic?" Sonia asked. Sonic turned his head to look at her, while Shadow picked a particularly beautiful flower and sniffed it. "Have you visited many wonderful places before?"

"Yeah!" Sonic answered, crossing his arms and turning to look at another tree. "This is actually one of my favorite spots."

"So, you come here often?" Shadow asked, looking up from his flower. Sonic nodded.

"Once you defeat Eggman... you'll leave, won't you?" Sonia asked. After a brief pause, contemplating, Sonic turned to face her, then nodded. "Though I've been frightened many times, I've also enjoyed this adventure. It allowed me to be something other than a princess. I was able to be myself... a girl."

"It sounds like being royalty isn't that easy," Shadow noted.

"It isn't sometimes, but we love this country," Manic answered.

"Everyone in the castle, the children, all our citizens really..." Sonia continued Manic's statement. "The same love our father and mother have..."

They had a flashback of King Jules and Queen Aleena sitting on their thrones, gently stroking a slightly younger Sonia and Manic's foreheads, respectively.

"Don't cry, my children. Become strong rulers who don't cry no matter what happens," Aleena said.

They snapped back to reality.

"And so, we do our best to protect our country," Manic finished.

"I understand everything our parents said to us now. Sonic, if you leave here to go on another adventure... Remember this place," Sonia requested.

"Definitely," Sonic assured. Sonia suddenly strayed away with an offended gasp-like grunt. "Sis?" Sonic asked, concerned.

"I'm fine... Sorry," Sonia said. Sonic didn't believe her, but decided not to say anything. _'I mustn't cry... I can't...' _Sonia thought. She quickly hugged Sonic before she could cry, taking him off-guard.

"Sonia... smile," Sonic reassured, gently stroking her back to comfort her. "I can always come back to visit." After Sonia pulled herself together, Sonic and Shadow escorted her and Manic back to Mobotropolis.

* * *

As they were about to go their separate ways again, Sonic stopped Shadow. "Wait, Shadow."

Shadow stopped and turned to look at the cobalt hedgehog. "Hmm?"

"Remember how Mephiles said that the world would betray you?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Shadow asked.

"Even if the world turns against you, I promise, no matter what, I'll never turn against you," Sonic promised.

Shadow's eyes got soft and shiny again. "Thank you..." Sonic smiled and gave a nod. "Actually, can I hang out with you for a while? I don't really have anything to do," Shadow said.

"I don't see why not," Sonic answered. The two hedgehogs left the city together to get to know each other better.


	10. Chapter 10- Bonding

**GuardianDragon98, Sonic is still a triplet, he was just born a few minutes before his siblings, making him the eldest (if that's part of why you're confused). Jules never met his children before Robotnik took over, because he was on a mission when they were born, and he was attacked by Robotnik first when he attacked. He was presumed to be dead while Aleena and the triplets went into hiding, and he didn't come back until after Sonic and Robotnik vanished. Aleena has been following Jules, but during his attempts to kill Sonic, she was busy with trying to find him because they had gotten separated.**

**This chapter is all about Sonic and Shadow's relationship. Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

Sonic and Shadow were racing through the plains, making mock attempts to tackle each other. Sonic was already smiling, simply because he was enjoying the 'game', but his smile got even bigger when he saw that Shadow seemed to be having just as much fun as him, judging by his large smile and the excited sparkle in his eyes.

Shadow managed to tackle Sonic while he was distracted, causing both of them to tumble head-over-heels down the hill, landing a few feet away from each other.

Shadow sighed as he started to push himself up. He looked up to check on Sonic. Sonic was still lying on the ground, not moving. Concerned, Shadow ran over and rolled Sonic onto his back, revealing Sonic to be in silent hysterics.

Shadow angrily punched Sonic in the chest, upset about being scared half to death, which only made him laugh more. The two then got into a wrestling match, trying to pin each other down.

After they managed to untangle themselves from each other, they sat on the grass, laughing and trying to catch their breath.

"It's nice to see you smiling and laughing for once," Sonic said.

"Whatever," Shadow replied, giving Sonic a light shove on the shoulder. The two sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the wind blowing through their fur and quills.

"So, what was your childhood like?" Shadow asked. "You told me how you got separated from your siblings, but not anything about what happened before then."

"Well, I guess I should start from the beginning," Sonic replied. Sonic told Shadow about how his mother gave him and his siblings up because of a prophecy (that never came true), his foster parents were arrested and roboticized when he was four and went to live with his Uncle Chuck (who also got roboticized, eventually), reunited with his siblings, and several of their adventures.

Shadow felt really sorry for Sonic again. He had gone through far more pain in his 18 years than anyone should in their entire lifetime. Sonic had gone through even more hardships than him!

"I'm so sorry, Sonic..." Shadow whispered.

"Hey, it's okay," Sonic assured him, comfortingly putting his arm around Shadow's shoulders. "You don't need to apologize. It's all in the past."

Shadow put his arm around Sonic's shoulders, returning the hug. They then spent the next several hours racing, wrestling, testing each other's skills, and discussing their interests, stopping to take a short nap at one point.

When the sun started to get low in the sky, they went their separate ways. Shadow left to hunt some feral animals to satisfy his clinical vampirism for the day, then go back to his apartment, and Sonic left to get some dinner (chili dogs, as usual), then find a place to settle down for the night.

Meanwhile, Aleena had caught up with Jules shortly after Shadow left, and had lectured him for an hour for trying to kill their oldest son.

* * *

**Sorry**** for the really short chapter. I'll make the next one longer. Again, please review!**


	11. Chapter 11- Sonia and Manic's Fate

**Sorry for the slow update. In this chapter, Shadow has a conversation with himself, which will foreshadow the events that will happen in the ****sequel to this story, which I will start working on after I finish this story.**

**Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

"What on Mobius were you thinking, Jules?!" Queen Aleena berated her mate. "Attacking our own son?!"

Jules' ears were pressed flat against his head as he listened guiltily to his mate's angry lecture. His tail was drooping and he wouldn't meet her eyes. He lazily ran his fingers along his metallic right arm, which, along with his partially-blind left eye, was a constant reminder of his failed roboticization.

"How did you not notice how similar he looks to you?!" Aleena growled.

"I thought it was just a coincidence. And, in case you've forgotten, I'm _half blind in one eye_!" Jules yelled the last part. The former commoner continued to argue with his mate for the next hour, the born royal occasionally cursing him out.

* * *

**(10 o'clock in the morning)**

The citizens were conversing among themselves. A shadow covered them and they turned to look at the Egg Carrier flying above the city. The citizens began to panic as Eggman made his announcement.

"Princess Sonia and Prince Manic, future rulers of Mobotropolis... By refusing to negotiate with me, you two have forced me to take drastic actions," Eggman announced. Amy was in the crowd listening to this. Getting nervous, she turned around and ran away. "Meet me at the specified point, _alone_, at noon today. Failure to do so on time, will result in my leveling of this city so that nothing but ashes remain!"

Sonia and Manic stood outside on the balcony of their castle as they listened to this with Cyrus and Trevor.

"Sonia...!" Trevor said.

"Manic...!" Cyrus said at the same time. Sonia and Manic exchanged a look.

"We cannot allow harm to come to our people," Sonia replied. She and Manic turned around and started to walk away.

"Sonia...!" Trevor protested.

"Manic...!" Cyrus protested at the same time.

"It is our duty as Prince and Princess of Mobotropolis to go... There is no other choice," Manic stated simply. He and Sonia left to rendezvous with Dr. Eggman for the sake of their people.

Meanwhile, Cyrus and Trevor looked around the city, trying to find Sonic to go rescue them. "Hey, isn't that Tails?" Trevor asked, spotting the twin-tailed cub.

Cyrus looked in the direction Trevor was, also seeing Tails. "You're right. Maybe he can find Sonic and tell him about Manic and Sonia." They caught up with Tails and told him about Manic and Sonia, asking him to find Sonic to save them.

Tails quickly found Sonic and told him the situation. Before Sonic could leave, Tails called his name. "Sonic? There's something I've been thinking about..."

"What is it?" Sonic asked, curious.

"How do you and Knuckles... and the Prince and Princess... know each other?" Tails asked.

Sonic instantly got nervous and started blushing a little. "Huh?! Uh... well..."

Tails put his hands up reassuringly. "Hey, if you'd rather not talk about it, that's okay."

Sonic relaxed and gave his adoptive little brother a smile. "Thanks." He then took off to rescue his biological siblings, knowing that they'd crash and die if he didn't make it in time.

* * *

Shadow was walking through a field, confused and annoyed with himself. "What the heck is going on with me?" he asked aloud. He angrily cursed himself out. "I swore that I'd never let myself get attached to anyone ever again, and I'm getting attached to the Faker! I'll just end up losing him eventually, just like I lost Maria and Professor Gerald Robotnik!"

_'Although... Sonic is different... There's something about his Chaos Energy that's just like mine... And there's something else about him that seems familiar for some reason... Plus, he hasn't really physically aged in, like, 3 years... I wonder...' _he thought.

Shadow shook his head to clear it. "No, that's not possible. Sonic's parents were born after I was created and sealed away. There's no way. Unless..." Shadow shook his head again while holding it with one hand. He let out a frustrated growl. "Curse me! And my amnesia!"

_'I need the Professor's journal, but Eggman has it! He is the rightful successor to it, given how it belonged to his grandfather... If that weren't the case, I'd just take it from him. Of course, I don't know where he keeps it anyway... For all I know, it might still be on the ARK...' _he thought to himself.

He growled again as he rubbed his temples, getting a headache from thinking so hard, especially about something so complicated. Shadow had a higher IQ than an average person, but not genius level like Tails and Dr. Eggman.

Shadow sighed. "This isn't gonna be easy to figure out..." He heard some commotion nearby and, his curiosity getting the best of him, went to investigate.

* * *

Sonia and Manic were trapped on the Egg Carrier and were sitting on chairs as Eggman berated them. Every time he tried to look them in the eye, they looked away.

"You two have wasted so much of my time. If you had cooperated with me earlier, I wouldn't have to do this," Eggman said.

"What are you trying to do, _Dr. Eggman_?" Manic growled.

"Why do you wish to revive the Flames of Disaster?" Sonia asked, a hint of a growl in her voice.

"Did your parents ever disclose to you anything about Solaris? Solaris' secrets are in his eternal flames. His power... can change time, and even manipulate the fabric of time itself. I wish to obtain this power and dominate everything in this world. From the past all the way to the future!" Eggman monologued.

"You wish... to rule over... Time?" Sonia asked in shock.

"Yes. Truly. And the secret... remains dormant in _you_, Princess," Eggman explained. Eggman proceeded to his ship's interface and began inputting commands. "The Prince and Princess of Mobotropolis and the seven Chaos Emeralds... Once I have everything, the fate of the world will change. And one of the beautiful gems is just ahead."

_"Chaos Emerald located."_

"Finally!" Eggman exclaimed. "Now, let's go collect that Chaos Emerald."

* * *

Sonic was running through a plain, on his way to rescue his siblings, when his path was suddenly intercepted by several Egg Gunners. He came to a stop while the robots approached him and prepare to attack when several blasts of yellow Chaos Energy struck most of them, instantly destroying them, immediately followed by shots from a submachine gun, destroying the rest.

Shadow landed in front of Sonic, holding his MP5-K in his left hand. Putting the SMG away, he turned to his new best friend. "You look like you're in a hurry. Want some help?" he offered.

Sonic smiled and gave a grateful nod. "Yes. That'd be nice. Come on, we gotta hurry!" He took off, Shadow skating alongside him.

"So, what exactly is going on?" Shadow asked as they raced towards their destination.

"Sonia and Manic went to confront Eggman, alone," Sonic explained. "If we don't get there in time, they'll die onboard Eggman's battleship, just like in my vision."

Shadow let out an aggravated sigh. "I knew your brother would be trouble," he growled under his breath. Sonic annoyedly cuffed him over the head, not appreciating the jab at his little brother.

* * *

Inside the Egg Carrier, an alarm was going off.

"Huh? The engines are malfunctioning," Eggman said, frantically typing on the keys at his interface while Sonia and Manic watch. Manic was trembling and sweating profusely in terror as he clung to his sister. "What's this? Stop all engines now!" After there was no response, Eggman pounded on his interface in frustration and horror.

"...Why is this happening? No! We're about to crash!" Eggman yelled in horror. Sonia's ears flattened against her head in fear.

* * *

The Egg Carrier burst into flames and slowly crashed into a mountain in a massive explosion. Sonic, followed closely by Shadow, arrived the moment it happened

"Sonia! Manic!" Sonic screamed in horror. He was too late. His siblings and his nemesis were dead. Overwhelmed, he felt his legs get shaky. Unable to bear his own weight, he collapsed onto his knees. He pounded his fist against the ground in anger and grief, resting his forehead on the ground. Shadow silently mourned behind him. Shadow then realized something and looked at Sonic.

"Wait, there's still a way to change this," Shadow said softly. Sonic turned his head to look at him. "If we return to an earlier point in time, we'll be able to save them."

Sonic got to his feet and turned to face his friend. "I understand." He took out his blue Chaos Emerald while Shadow took out his red Chaos Emerald. They then approached each other.

"Chaos Control!" they yelled at the same time. The two Emeralds glowed, forming a white, swirling light in the air which formed a blue, swirling portal suspended in mid-air. Giving each other a nod, they leapt through the portal, which took them to 30 minutes before Eggman made his announcement.


	12. Chapter 12- The End of the World

**Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own _Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

_"Thrust increasing. Engine output at maximum. Course plotted." _The Egg Carrier was preparing to depart from Port Mobius. _"Gate open. Lifting off."_

Red machines holding the Egg Carrier in place detached and receded into the walls. The Egg Carrier proceeded to take off. Just then, Sonic, followed closely by Shadow, were running along a catwalk above the Egg Carrier and jumped onto the craft, landing on the edge of its metal tail before it could accelerate too much and they missed their chance to board and save Sonia and Manic and Eggman. The Egg Carrier zoomed off towards its inevitable demise.

Sonic and Shadow crawled, military-style, towards the main part of the Egg Carrier. Using his G.U.N. blowtorch, Shadow cut a hole in the side that was just big enough for them, which they used to get in. They quickly and quietly made their way through the battleship, watching each other's back.

* * *

Events were playing out like before; an alarm was going off while Eggman was frantically typing at the Egg Carrier's interface, trying to save his doomed ship.

"...Why is this happening?! Noooooo!" Eggman exclaimed.

Suddenly, a slightly high-pitched, masculine voice spoke up. "Playtime's over."

Eggman and the Royal Hedgehogs looked towards the voice to find Sonic, accompanied by Shadow, who had his teeth bared aggressively. Eggman was half-astonished and half-furious at seeing Sonic somehow got on the Egg Carrier to save the Prince and Princess from the ship's inevitable destruction. What confused him, however, was that Shadow still seemed to be helping Sonic for some reason.

"Sonic!" Sonia and Manic exclaimed, happy to see their brother. They ran over, hiding behind the two stronger hedgehogs.

"This ship is about to crash," Sonic informed.

"Too bad, Doctor," Shadow sneered. Eggman growled as he threw a childlike tantrum, stomping as he did so.

"I'm not finished yet!" Eggman spat. Sonic protectively threw his arms out and stood in front of his siblings, refusing to let Eggman get near them again and risk them being killed in the Egg Carrier's inevitable crash. Shadow bared his teeth again and got into a fighting stance.

* * *

The alarm continued to go off as Sonic, carrying Sonia and Manic in his arms, charged down the corridor, Shadow skating along right behind him. Sonic glanced/glared up towards the alarm, getting sick of the sound. Another part of the Egg Carrier blew up/broke off, causing the floor to shake under their feet. Sonia and Manic clung even tighter to their brother as he and Shadow sped up, knowing that they were running out of time to escape. The front section of the Egg Carrier exploded into flames and broke off, allowing them to get outside quicker.

"Sonic!" Sonia and Manic shouted at the same time, pointing at a large section of the Egg Carrier that had broken off and was in flames. Sonic and Shadow stared in shock and astonishment as it passed them.

"Aren't you guys worried?" Sonic asked, cocking his head slightly.

"'If you have time to worry, then run,' right?" Sonia said, quoting what Sonic told them before. Sonic smiled, glad that they were taking his advice.

The front section of the Egg Carrier exploded in a huge fireball before it even hit the ocean surface below, sending smaller fragments shooting off in all directions like missiles. Sonic gave Manic to Shadow and adjusted his grip.

They got in a starting position, getting their lean, powerful leg muscles ready to run and jump. They took a running start and leapt off. They jumped from one piece of debris of the Egg Carrier to another. They landed on the wing to jump to a cliff and attempted to jump high into the air, only for them to start falling when gravity took over before they could reach the top of the cliff. A large piece of debris of the Egg Carrier's engines collided into the cliff face below and its explosion launched Sonic, Shadow, Sonia, and Manic up to solid ground.

They rolled along the ground before coming to a rest after several tumbles. Sonic, Shadow, and Manic recovered with a groan before checking Sonia, who rolled over onto her back. Sonia laid on the ground while Sonic worriedly walked over to her. He lended his hand for her to get up.

Sonia and Manic suddenly burst into laughter. Sonic and Shadow chuckled softly before giving in and laughing hysterically. They all sighed as they finally calmed down. Sonia and Manic were still sitting on the ground while Sonic and Shadow were still standing.

Sonic looked over at his siblings, his emerald irises shining as usual. "Nice smile!" he complimented, giving a thumbs up. He gave them a playful wink, which they returned. The four hedgehogs turned to stare at the horizon together.

* * *

The royal triplets and Shadow were walking through a plain, on their way back to Mobotropolis. Shadow had gone back to his usual frown, deep in thought. Suddenly, they were blinded by the light of the purple Chaos Emerald. Mephiles floated up from the ground behind them, preparing for the kill.

Shadow managed to squint his eyes open and saw Mephiles behind them. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that he was targeting Sonic. Mephiles shot a spear of light at Sonic's back.

"Sonic!" Shadow shouted.

Sonic grunted in pain as Shadow slammed himself into Sonic, shoving him aside. Shadow let out a deep grunt of pain as the spear of light impaled him in the back, slicing through his heart.

"Shadow!" Sonic screamed while Sonia and Manic shrieked in horror. Mephiles retracted the spear of light, not expecting this as it was not his plan.

Shadow slowly collapsed onto his knees. His eyes rolled back into his head as he collapsed onto his chest and stomach, dead. Sonic was instantly at Shadow's side.

"Shadow! Shadow!" Sonic cried out as he shook Shadow, trying to revive him. Sonia and Manic stood there helplessly.

Mephiles started cackling, relishing in Sonic's suffering, even though it wasn't what he intended. Sonic finally rolled Shadow over onto his back. Shadow's hand lifelessly fell to the ground.

"Shadow?" Sonic asked, his voice cracking a bit. It was no good. Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, was dead.

Sonic felt tears welling up in his eyes, which he tried to hold back, but he failed. He and Shadow had grown so close in the past few days. Shadow was like an older brother to him and now he was gone.

"No... No! Noooooooo!" Sonic wailed, his tears escaping. Suddenly, due to his tears, Iblis' seal was broken, releasing him from his chest.

"What?!" Sonia exclaimed, shocked. Iblis was sealed inside her! Wasn't he?

Mephiles laughed again. "Finally, the seal is broken!" he said. "At long last, I'll be able to join with you! _Iblis_! Now, Chaos Emerald! It's time for the final curtain call!" He used the purple Chaos Emerald to manipulate time and space and fuse with Iblis, restoring Solaris.

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**Plot twist! And a cliffhanger! Again, please review!**


	13. Chapter 13- Saving the World

**Sorry for re-uploading this chapter. I wanted to make sure people see the update to this chapter. I apologize if this ending feels lame/rushed. I just want to get it done so I can start on the sequel. If it feels like it's missing something, tell me how to improve in the reviews.**

**By the way, I'm going to make some adjustments to the previous chapters so the characters' ages are more in line with their ages in the sequel (which takes place a week later).**

**Please read and review! I hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**: I do NOT own_ Sonic the Hedgehog_ or _Sonic Underground_!

* * *

Sonic cradled Shadow's lifeless body, more tears threatening to run down his face. He hiccuped and sniffled as he tried not to cry any more. "Shadow..."

Solaris left to begin his rampage. Sonia looked at her heartbroken brother.

"Sonic... I thought Iblis was sealed within me, not you," she said.

"I transferred Iblis from you to me last night while you were asleep," Sonic explained through sobs. Another tear escaped his eye. The large tear slowly rolled down his cheek and landed on Shadow's. The tear let off a golden glow as it hit his tan muzzle and quickly absorbed into his skin.

Suddenly, a golden glow started coming out of Shadow's chest. The triplets stared in astonishment as the glow healed his wound.

Shadow let out a soft moan of pain as he came back to life. Sonic gasped softly and whispered, "Shadow?"

Shadow groaned and started to squint open his ruby eyes. They were a bit dull due to him just coming back to life. "Sonic?" he asked weakly.

"Shadow!" Sonic yelled happily, hugging the ebony hedgehog tightly.

Shadow groaned as he clutched his chest in pain. "Take it easy, Faker!" he protested weakly, gently pushing Sonic off.

"Sorry. Does it still hurt?" Sonic asked in concern.

Shadow winced as he rubbed his aching chest. "I'll be okay," he reassured, his voice already getting louder and stronger.

Sonic smiled. "Think you can fight?" Solaris roared, emphasizing Sonic's point.

Shadow got to his feet. "I think so."

"Good. Let's do this!" Sonic exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement and anticipation for the battle with Solaris.

Summoning all of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic and Shadow focused on their power and transformed into Super Sonic and Super Shadow, much to Sonia and Manic's shock. Sonic's quills turned upwards, his fur turned golden yellow, his eyes turned ruby red, and he developed a fire-like, glowing, golden aura. Shadow's ebony fur turned lemon yellow and he also developed a fire-like, glowing, golden aura.

Super Sonic and Super Shadow flew up to battle Solaris. After nearly 20 minutes of fighting, the two golden hedgehogs finally defeated the inter-dimensional creature for good. They landed in front of Sonia and Manic and powered down to their normal forms, panting from exhaustion.

"What was _that_?!" Manic exclaimed.

"What was what?" Sonic asked between pants.

"The golden fur and the flying and stuff!" Sonia exclaimed.

"That was Super Sonic and Super Shadow," Sonic explained. "Well, I guess we should all head home. I think we can all agree that we've had enough excitement for one day."

"Yeah. Bye, Sonic," Sonia and Manic said, heading back to Mobotropolis on their own.

Just as Sonic turned to head home, Shadow stopped him. "Uh, Sonic?" he asked.

Sonic turned to look at his friend. "What's up?"

Shadow awkwardly kicked the ground. "Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?"

"Not at all. Why?" Sonic asked curiously.

"Well... My apartment kinda caught on fire last night..." Shadow said. "So I don't have anywhere to stay..."

"Hey, remember my promise?" Sonic said. Shadow did, indeed, remember that promise.

* * *

**(Flashback to shortly after Sonic and Shadow escorted Sonia and Manic back to Mobotropolis)**

"Shadow..." Sonic started. "Even if you believe that the entire world will turn against you, I promise, no matter what, I'll stay by your side. I'll never turn against you."

Shadow's pupils dilated again and his eyes got shiny. "Thank you..." he whispered.

Sonic smiled warmly, his own eyes getting big and shiny. "You're like a brother to me, Shadow. I love you just as much as I do Tails and my real siblings," he whispered. The two hedgehogs hugged.

"Same here," Shadow whispered back. Sonic extended his pinky, making his promise a pinky swear. Shadow interlocked his pinky with Sonic's, sealing the pinky swear.

* * *

**(Back to reality)**

"I haven't forgotten," Shadow confirmed.

Sonic smiled. "Good. Come on, I'll race you!" The cobalt hedgehog then took off.

"Get back here!" Shadow yelled after him with a playful smirk. The ebony hedgehog took off after his rival/best friend/adoptive little brother.

* * *

**Here's a short teaser/preview of the sequel to this story, The Ultimate Lifeforms (now uploaded!):**

_"Why do you suddenly care about him so much?" Eggman asked, smirking. "Something happen in Mobotropolis?" __"That's none of your business!" Shadow spat._

_"What is that?! What are you doing?! Shadow! Stop!" he all but shouted, now fighting desperately with a newfound fervor._

_"Preparations for internal inspection of the second Ultimate Lifeform beginning at precisely 12:42 A.M."_


End file.
